The session approved ECLAC’s”The Inefficiency of Inequality.” According to its Executive Secretary, Alicia Bácena, “We believe that equality, productivity and democracy are complementary strategic goods, which cannot be substituted for each other, even more so in a world experiencing sharp economic, political and environmental tensions.”

Equality, she said, “creates inclusive institutions and a culture that rewards innovation and effort, not the social class, ethnicity, gender or political connections of economic actors. In addition, it strengthens the positive democracies that require technical change, economic and political stability and care for the environment, and it enables access to capacities and opportunities on equal footing, in a context of technological revolution.”

“In the global economic framework, equality helps expand aggregate demand and reduce the intensity of domestic and external conflicts by promoting development.” She noted that Latin America and the Caribbean is the world’s most unequal region, with an average Gini coefficient of 0.5 compared with 0.45 for Sub-Saharan Africa, 0.4 for East Asia and the Pacific, and 0.3 for the countries of the OECD.

She added that “tax evasion in the region amounts to 6.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in terms of income tax and the value-added tax alone, while in the social arena gaps in access to education, the high rate of teenage motherhood, and ethnic-racial discrimination continue to perpetuate inequalities.”

There are also notable territorial inequalities between the different socioeconomic levels in aspects such as life expectancy, infant mortality, the illiteracy rate and access to drinking water in the home, to mention just a few. This is compounded by an economic model based on the extraction of natural resources, reduced and low-quality investment in infrastructure, gaps in the obtainment of sanitation, electricity and Internet, as well as the high costs resulting from the destructive effects of extreme climatological events that stem from climate change.

For these reasons, Bárcena emphasized, the task that lies ahead for the region is to move toward sustainable development in its three dimensions: social, economic and environmental. To achieve this, it is necessary to revitalize investment and fully insert the region in the fourth industrial revolution, with a central focus on decarbonization and decoupling growth and environmental impact.

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary underscored that the sum of national actions is not enough; multilateral institutions are needed for greater global cooperation, as well as the provision of global public goods and means of implementation that close gaps in financing, technology and trade. “Our region has an enormous chance to modernize and propose new agreements that close financial, technological and trade asymmetries at a global level.”

ECLAC’s Executive Secretary’s Concluding Comments

The Executive Secretary also ratified the session’s granting priority to the future development of the Caribbean countries. She explained that the “small island states are the most vulnerable in the area, due to international financial challenges and the effects of climate change.” In short, “The Caribbean first, we have said it loud and clear.”

Cuba Foreign Minister’s Comments

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno Rodríguez, warned that the attacks on multilateralism are increasingly more serious and new threats are lurking in the region. “The process of implementing the 2030 Agenda poses great challenges for our countries. While there is progress, poverty and inequality are on the rise and financial resources are insufficient. New resources are essential.” He also commended the important role played by ECLAC, and particularly its Executive Secretary in supporting the countries and following the Agenda.

Cuba Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment’s Speech

Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Rodrigo Malmierca, said that the 2030 Agenda is “a guide in the fulfillment of the objectives for the sustainable development of the region” and that Cuba as pro tempore president of the organization will support this Agenda and “provide assistance to the most vulnerable countries, with special attention to the Caribbean regions. We do it with a high commitment and awareness of the challenges we face. We need to achieve a better articulation of regional strategies from solid commitments to do better and united.”

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As a retired lawyer and adjunct law professor, Duane W. Krohnke has developed strong interests in U.S. and international law, politics and history. He also is a Christian and an active member of Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church. His blog draws from these and other interests.
He delights in the writing freedom of blogging that does not follow a preordained logical structure. The ex post facto logical organization of the posts and comments is set forth in the continually being revised “List of Posts and Comments–Topical” in the Pages section on the right side of the blog.
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